Back in Jerusalem!

Well, I'm back in Jerusalem after a long four days. I had a great time in Jordan and saw a lot. I will post the previous days soon, but for now I will start with today. (Left - inside the King Abdullah Mosque). This morning, we woke up and checked out of our hotel. Our first stop was the King Abdullah Mosque, the second largest mosque in Jordan. It was really pretty. I had to wear a black dress and my blue scarf that I brought. It was really interesting. After the mosque, we went to the citadel. (Right - the outside of the King Abdullah Mosque). There is where the ancient city of Amman was located. We saw the old reconstructed walls, a reconstructed palace, as well as ruins. One of the ruins was a temple of Hercules. That was really interesting and we also had a great view of the Amman. At the citadel is also an archaeological museum. We saw Roman statues, coins, figures, and also a portion of the dead sea scrolls known as the copper scrolls. That was really cool.
Next we drove through the modern part of Amman. We got to see the American Embassy which is a gorgeous building. (Left - the temple of Hercules at the citadel). We weren't allowed to take pictures of it, though. I tried to find a picture of it online, but the only one I could find is on the American Embassy-Amman website and is so tiny that it doesn't do the building justice. But, if you want to take a look, go here.
Our final stop for the day was the border crossing back into Israel. Unfortunately, we didn't get any stamps from Jordan. I was disappointed. But, I still had a great time. I hope to go back some day. I don't know when, but I really enjoyed it. I didn't buy many souvenirs, but there wasn't too much else I would have bought if I had had more time.
Tomorrow I am going to Eilat for snorkeling. I am realyl excited for that! It should be nice before cram time for finals. We have finals for most of our classes within the next couple of weeks. The only class we won't have a final for is our Ancient Near Eastern Studies class. After finals, we will begin New Testament and then we will only have the two classes for the rest of the semester. That should be really nice.

Jerash and Chariot races

Today has been a very good day. After breakfast, we got on the bus and drove towards Jerash in the north. We stopped to see the Jabbok River. (Right - The Jabbok River. Somewhere along this river, Jacob wrestled with an angel before going to see his brother Esau). That was really pretty, despite it being polluted. Brother Draper taught about Jacob's wrestle. That was interesting but what was even more interesting was that Brother Ostler's explanation was completely different.
We then continued on and went to Jerash, an old Roman city in ruins. It is very well preserved. (Left - in Jerash). It was really cool. I felt like I could have been in Rome. We went into the theater there and some men played the bagpipes while we danced around. It was so much fun. (see right).
We walked around some more and saw ruins of churches and a temple for Artemis. Then we had just enough time to go to the RACE - Roman Army and Chariot Experience. It was expensive and not very good, but it was interesting. We got to watch it in a Roman hippodrome where real races and stuff went on in ancient times. It was mainly demonstrations and I would have been really disappointed if we wouldn't have been able to take pictures with them in the end. That was really cool. I think some day I may want to own a chariot.
Lunch afterward was amazing! (Left - Lindsay, Meghan, and I sitting in the hippodrome). It was so delicious! The bathroom attendant there was actually working for his money. He turned the water on for me, squirted the soap in my hands and handed me paper towels when I was done (there was one attendant for both the girls and the boys side). After lunch, we headed back to Amman. We went to meet with the district and branch president here. That was really interesting. (Right - one of my favorite pictures taken after the RACE. I was taken captive by the Gladiators!!!) Then we came back to the hotel for dinner.
After dinner I was going to go to an art museum, but none of the taxi drivers knew how to get there. So, we walked to the Supermarket where there is a place to buy cheap, pirated dvds. I didn't buy any because I don't like pirated dvds, but it was nice to not be stuck at the hotel.
(Left - in front of the branch building in Amman). When we got back, somehow I got invited to Megan's room with Aimee to watch TV. That was nice because my roommate was out with the key and I had no way to get into my room. We ended up turning on the tv just in time to watch The Illusionist completely. None of us had seen it. That was really interesting. Unfortunately, while I was there, I started hearing the groaning of the elevator. Now I can even here it in our room!

Petra!

This morning we loaded our stuff in the bus and walked down to Petra. That was really cool. At first, I was actually kind of disappointed. (Left - One of the many tombs at the entrance of Petra). But then we arrived at the treasury, a famous Roman-style facade. It was incredible. After that I enjoyed it a lot.
I rode a donkey up to the monastery. The donkey's name was Alyan. He was a good donkey, though he stumbled a couple of times. At least the saddle didn't break or slide off like happened to a couple of people. The monastery was cool though not quite what I was expecting. (Right - looking through the narrow walls of Petra on to the very famous Roman facade. You can't tell as much from this picture, but it was a stunning site to see as we made our way out of the narrow passage).
We went down for lunch. I then joined a group headed to the high place. I about wanted to die before I made it to the top. I ran out of water at lunch and I had to climb in the hot sun. I made it and it was definitely worth it. There was an incredible view up there.
We then had to hurry out to be on time. (Left - Does this look familiar to you? If you've seen Indiana Jones, it should). I rode a horse out (that was included in the ticket price). After Petra, we drove to Amman. On the way we stopped at a place that overlooked a crusader castle. Then we had a long drive before reaching the Ambassador Hotel in Amman. After dinner, I headed out with a group and went to the mall. That was huge! But it was very expensive, too. Oh well, it was nice to go out.

The Monastery - Clare and me. Me and Catharine jumping a top the High Place. I was really excited to make it to the top. At the stop where we looked at a crusader castle from afar, I wrote my name in rocks. A sign that I saw while at the mall. I thought it was interesting.

Jesus came to John the Baptist . . .

We crossed into Jordan pretty early. We first went to Bethany Beyond the Jordan where the traditional site of Jesus' baptism is. (Left - The Jordan River). I got to touch the Jordan River and even got water out of it to take home. We sang and took pictures. It was really cool.
Then we went to Mount Nebo where Moses stood overlooking the land of promise. That was really cool and we had a great view of everything. Next we went to a Greek Orthodox Church in Madaba where there is a mosaic map on the floor from Roman times. It was partially destroyed, but Jerusalem is still there. (Right - the Mosaic floor in the Church at Madaba).
After lunch, we drove down to Petra and went to our hotel. After going to our rooms and eating dinner, we went out into town. There wasn't really anywhere to go, but we walked to some shops down the street. It was a nice relaxing time.

Hebrew University

So, has everyone heard about the people killed in Gaza? It is amazing how something so far away (not just in distance but also in circumstances) can have such a big impact on our lives. Because of the incident, there was a strike going on today in the Old City. That means we couldn't be in East Jerusalem today. It was quite an ironic turn of events because we are leaving for Jordan tomorrow and everyone needs to get money. Luckily, they worked it out so the money changer is coming here. That doesn't help me out because I only have my ATM card. However, I am going to trust that everything will work out in that regard. But, since we couldn't go into East Jerusalem, a few of us headed over to our sister campus a little north of here on Mount Scopus, Hebrew University.
On the way, I finally got a picture of the sign that says Mormon University, pointing the way to the center. We walked around the campus there and it was really nice and very beautiful. They had tons of cats all over, so that was interesting to see. It really made me appreciate the clean air of BYU campus, though. (Right - me, Russ, Kendra, and Lyle in front of the sign for the Mormon University). I don't think my youngest sister would have done well with the smoke (because of the house fire she was in five years ago). We basically went for a few people to get some money and it was fun to just walk around. However, during the excursion, I was tackled and kicked. There is a story behind that, but it will suffice to say that it wasn't completely intentional and the guy is about twice my size in all aspects of the word (that is a slight exaggeration).
Anyway, despite the stress of worrying about how I am going to get money, today has been an alright day. Tomorrow will be even better because I will be on my way to JORDAN! I will be gone for four days, so I won't be able to write, but I will post when I get back my adventures in Jordan, including seeing one of the modern seven wonders of the world: Petra.